Jailed Tajik journalist Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda describes severe physical abuse, forced confession in letter
Stockholm, October 25, 2022 – Tajikistan authorities must provide a complete and convincing response to allegations that jailed journalist Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda has been subjected to severe physical abuse and mistreatment, and that he and other jailed journalists were forced to record false confessions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Friday, October 21, the…
CPJ welcomes final sentencing over Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack
Berlin, October 24, 2022 – A court in Paris on Thursday sentenced Ali Riza Polat to life imprisonment for complicity in a terrorist attack and Amar Ramdani to 13 years for conspiring with the attackers during the 2015 attack on the French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo. “CPJ welcomes the sentencing of Ali Riza Polat…
Radio Cefod journalist Orédjé Narcisse shot dead in Chad
Dakar, October 20, 2022 – In response to news reports that journalist Orédjé Narcisse was shot and killed on Thursday in Chad’s capital N’Djamena as he was on his way to work, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Chadian authorities must conduct a swift and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the…
CPJ submits reports on Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco to United Nations Universal Periodic Review
The human rights records of Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco are under review by the United Nations Human Rights Council through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This U.N. mechanism is a peer-review process that surveys the human rights performance of member states, monitoring progress from previous review cycles, and presents a list of recommendations on how a…
SOTA, one of the last independent news outlets in Russia, doubles down on coverage
Since the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, Russia has sought to stamp out independent reporting on the war, prompting journalists to flee and newsrooms to shut down or to self-censor under threat of criminal prosecution. Remarkably, one local outlet has continued to produce robust reporting despite the repressive environment. SOTA, which counts a staff of 40 journalists and support workers,…
Vietnamese journalist Huynh Thuc Vy beaten, choked by prison guards
Bangkok, October 14, 2022 – Vietnamese authorities must investigate, identify, and bring to full justice the prison guards responsible for physically abusing imprisoned journalist Huynh Thuc Vy, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On October 9, Vy told her young daughter that guards had beaten and choked her at the Gia Trung Prison, where…
‘To persecute any critical voice’: Jailed Guatemalan journalist Zamora’s son on his father’s arrest
When Guatemalan police arrested José Rubén Zamora in July 2022, it marked the latest salvo in a decades-long campaign of harassment against the pioneering Guatemalan investigative journalist, who won CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award in 1995. Zamora, who founded elPeriódico in 1996 and still serves as president of the newspaper, was arrested on July 29….
U.S. midterm election 2022: Journalist safety kit
The U.S. midterm elections will be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, in an increasingly polarized political climate. During this midterm election year, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested. Online abuse and digital threats to journalists have been steadily increasing, as…
Two armed attackers shoot at journalist Erick Niño’s home, office in Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia, October 11, 2022 – Colombian authorities must thoroughly investigate a shooting at the home and office of journalist Erick Niño, bring those responsible to justice, and guarantee Niño’s safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Around 10:45 p.m. on October 5, two men aboard a motorcycle armed with pistols shot several times…
Al Rabiaa TV headquarters stormed by protesters in Baghdad
On the night of October 4, 2022, protesters stormed the headquarters of privately owned Al Rabiaa TV in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, damaged the broadcaster’s equipment, and forced it to go off air for a day, according to statements and multiple videos by the broadcaster, news reports, the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission, and local press freedom groups. In a statement, Al Rabiaa TV said the perpetrators were “groups belonging…